Careers
Good work, good kit, good people
We employ everyone in-house — estimators, machinists, joiners, sprayers, counter staff and drivers. If you take pride in what leaves the building, we would like to hear from you.
What it is like here
Everything happens on one site in Croydon. Boards are cut on the beam saw, machined on the routers, edged, built up at the bench, sprayed in our own booths or on the robotic line, checked, wrapped and driven out on our own vans. Nothing waits in another workshop's queue, which means you see the job you worked on leave the building finished.
The work is a mix. One week is a full kitchen in sprayed MDF, the next is a trade schedule of doors and fronts for a joiner who fits them, then a set of veneered panels for a designer. Batch work keeps the machines busy; the one-offs keep it interesting.
It is a proper workshop, not an open-plan office with a workbench in the corner. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. Everyone gets PPE, extraction is taken seriously, and the machines are serviced rather than nursed. If something is wrong with the kit or the plan, we would much rather hear it early from the person running it than find out at the quality check.
We hire for attitude as much as for a CV. If you are careful, turn up, and care what the finish looks like under a light, the training is on us.
Roles we recruit for
We keep this list up whether or not a vacancy is open today. Good machinists, joiners and sprayers do not come along to order, so if one of these is you, write anyway — we will tell you honestly what is coming up.
Full time · Croydon
Building carcasses, drawers, doors and one-off pieces from our own drawings, with machined parts already cut, edged and stacked at the bench. Dry-fitting before anything goes near the spray shop.
What we look for: Time served or a solid apprenticeship, comfortable reading a cutting list and a set of drawings, and fussy about a joint nobody will ever see.
Full time · Croydon
Setting and running the HOMAG beam saw, the edgebander and both routers — the five-axis and the vertical CNC — proving programmes and keeping batches flowing to the bench.
What we look for: Experience on panel plant, a careful approach to setting and tooling, and the patience to prove a programme properly before a full sheet goes through.
Full time · Croydon
Working the Makor robotic line and the hand booths — filling, sanding, denibbing, mixing colour in the mixing room and spraying sample boards for customer sign-off.
What we look for: A good eye for film build and colour, tidy prep habits, and experience with two-pack, water based or UV lacquer.
Full time · Croydon
Pricing trade drawings and bespoke enquiries, flagging anything that will cause trouble on site, and writing quotes clear enough that nobody argues about scope later.
What we look for: A joinery or shopfitting background, confidence with drawings and cutting lists, and plain writing.
Full time · Croydon
Loading and wrapping finished work, driving our own vans across London, and fitting on site where we are fitting — then walking the job round with the customer.
What we look for: A clean licence, care with finished surfaces, and the manner to be the face of the workshop on someone's site.
Full time · Croydon
Serving trade customers at the counter, picking click-and-collect orders, keeping stock straight and sourcing the awkward items people cannot find elsewhere.
What we look for: Trade knowledge of hardware, abrasives and finishes, and the sort of memory that recognises a regular by their van.
What you get
Tickets, machine training and time to learn a new machine properly.
Two CNC routers, a beam saw, an edgebander and a robotic spray line.
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. Overtime is offered, never assumed.
Machinists move to setting, sprayers to line programming, joiners to leading.
Apprenticeships
We take on apprentices in the machine shop, at the bench and in the spray shop. An apprentice here spends time in each department first — sanding and prepping, stacking and picking, watching a five-axis programme prove out — before settling into one. College day release is paid for, and you are given a named person to learn from rather than being handed a broom and forgotten. If you are leaving school or college, or changing trade later on, send us a note about why joinery or finishing appeals to you.
How we hire
Email us with the role you are after. A short note about the work you are proudest of counts for more than a long CV.
Ten minutes with the manager for that department, so you can ask what the job really involves before either of us spends a morning on it.
A walk round the workshop and a proper chat on the shop floor. For hands-on roles we will ask for a short trial on the bench, the machine or in the booth — paid.
A written offer with hours, pay and the department you sit in. We work around notice periods.
Roles are employed by Painted Bespoke Joinery Ltd or Painted Ltd depending on the department, both based at Unit 2 Mill Lane Trading Estate, Croydon CR0 4AA. Email info@painted.co.uk with your CV and the role you are after, or call 020 8944 2817 and ask for the office. We reply to everyone.